Combined fastening structure



Dec. 28, 1937. G. A..TiNNx-':RMAN l 2,103,833

COMBINED FASTENING STRUCTURE Original Fil'ed Nov. 19, 1936 lNvENiroR GEORGE FNA/Henny AToRNEYs Patented Dec. 28,- 1937 UNITED STATE 'coMBINEp FAs'rENING s'raUcgili-ian.

, George A. Tinnen-man, Rocky lor to Albert H. Tlnnerman,

River, Ohio, assign- Cleveland, Ohio original applicati@ November 19, 1936, serial No. 111,653. Divided and this application June 15,1931,seria1no.14s,363

4 Claims. This invention relates to devices for fastening together superposed parts, such as sheet metal members. Such members may be joined vby threadless fasteners having portions thereon eX,A

5 truded therefrom and are adapted to engage the shank of 4a bolt or screw. Examples of such fasteners are shown (and claimed per se) in my Patent No. 2,062,685 of December 1st, 1936, of which my copending application, Serial No. 111,653, filed Nov. 19, 1936, is a division. The present application in turn is a division of the aforesaid copending application, since -issued as Patent Number 2,084,926, June 22, 1937.

In using fasteners, in blind locations, that is, where an' operator cannot readily hold a nut while he is insertingr the bolt into it, it has been necessary to utilize some extraneous means, such as rivets or other fastening members, for holding the fasteners in place. There are many instances, however, particularly in automotive production where fasteners are desirable but where it is impractical to hold them in a satisfactory manner by any means heretofore employed. An example of such use is in the attachment of the fender to the body although there are many other `examples which lcould be cited.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a fastener which is made in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of a fastener; Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the fastener; Fig. 4 is a section taken through the fastener when applied to the parts to be joined; Fig, 5 is a view illustrating the application of the fastener to one of the parts that are to be 35 joined, particularly in a blind location; Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a fastener whichis modified from that shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 7 is a section taken on a plane as indicated by the line T-'I in Fig. 6.

A fastener which is `indicated by Figs. 1 to 5 preferably comprises a strip of sheet metal which is bent backwardly upon itself to provide two arms one of which is indicatedat I and the other at II. These arms may be substantially equal in width and may be spaced apart in accordance with the thickness of the p art with which the fastener is intended for use. One of the arms may have a pair of tongues I2 formed integrally therewith and struck outwardly there. from, and in the preferred arrangement, each tongue has a re-entrant recess I3, the two recesses cooperating toprovidean opening for receiving the shank of the fastening member. In addition, that portion of each tongue adjacent the recess is inclined, with reference to the (Cl. 18S-36) t shank-receiving opening, to conform to the pitch of the thread of a bolt or screw with which it is intended for use.

The arm opposite that from which the tongues are struck has an opening I5 which is larger in diameter than the outside diameter of the shank of the fastening member, the intention being to provide clearance between the fastening member and the wall of the opening I and to utilize solely the tongues for fastening purposes. In the illustration of Fig. 4, the parts to be joined are indicated at I 6 and I'i as having openings I8 and I9 respectively which are in registration. The fastener has the opening I5"`and the opening between the tongues I3.in registration with the openings I3 and I9. In addition, the space between the arms I0 and II is such that the fastener may be slid over the parts which previously have been placed together with the openings I8 and I9 in registration. To facilitate the entrance of the parts into the fastener, one of the arms may be ared outwardly as indicated at 20. As soon as`the fastener is positioned in the proper place, then the bolt or screw 25 is moved in an endwise direction through all of the openings and is turned into locked position. To use the fastener in blind locations, such as occur inwardly from the edge of a sheet, I prefer to form a slot in one, of the parts to be fastened, near the opening thereof through which the-bolt is adapted to pass. This, nas illustrated in Fig. 5 at 30, is formed by striking part of the metal of the part Ilial upwardly as at 3I. The slot is sufficiently close to the opening 38 yin the part Isa that when the fastener is moved endwise through the slot and onto the part, the tongues are in position to engage the bolt that is passed through the openings 38 and 39 in the parts I6a andI'ia respectively. In thisform of connection the arm I0 of the fastener engages one side of one of the parts to be fastened, while the arm II engages the opposite side of the same part. The

part Ila. then has its inner surface engaging the outer surface of the arm II, so that part of the fastener is thus interposed between the two parts to be joined together. If desired, slots, such as 30, may be made in each of the parts to be joined,.so as to enable the arms of the fastener to embrace the outer surfaces of both parts.

InFigs. 6 and 7, I have shown a modification in which the fastener comprises two substantially parallel portions or arms 40 and 4I that are connected by a looped portion 42. The arm 4 6 has tongues 43 projecting upwardly and in opposing relation, while the arm 4I has an opening 44 in alignment with the bolt receiving openings that are formed by the tongues, and also in alignment with the openings 46 and 41 in the parts 48 and 49 respectively. In this modifica-I tion, the tongues extend in the same direction as the line of bend, whereas in Fig. 1 the tongues extend transversely of the line of bend between the arms. This latter arrangementlis satisfactory in those locations where space limitations prevent the use of a spring fastener which has arms of such length as are necessary to provide the tongue formation illustrated in Fig. 1. While I have shown the thread engaging portion as comprising yieldable tongues, I may, if desired, use other forms as come within the Scope of the appended claims.

A fastener having arms of substantially equal length assures a fiat bearing surface against one cf the parts to be joined, while the curved portion provides a connection which prevents the fastener from turning with reference to such parts during the bolt inserting operation. Moreover, the fastener is advantageous in that it is admirably suited for making connections in blind locations.

1. `In securing parts not accessible from both sides, the combination of a support readily accessible from one side only and provided with a bolt passage, a part to be connected to said support and a one-piece connecting device comprising a pair of members, one of which is provided with bolt receiving means deformed -therefrom and is applicable from the accessible side to be positioned on the inaccessible side of the support to receive a bolt fastening and to cooperate. with the other of said members to maintain thel device in applied position, said other member having an opening receiving the bolt and cooperating therewith in,the securing operation to retain the 4connecting device in applied position andsuitably register said bolt receiving means with the said bolt passage in the support thereby facilitating ready fastening engagement of the bolt in securing said part to be connected to the support.

2. In securing parts accessible from one edge, the combination of a support having a bolt passage therein, a part to be connected to said support and provided with a bolt passage adapted to register with thaty in the support, and a onepiece connecting device comprising, a pair of members one of which is provided with integral bolt receiving means deformed therefrom adapted to register with the bolt passages in the support. and part respectively in receiving a bolt fastening, said member provided with the bolt receiving means cooperating with the other of said members to maintain the connecting device in applied position, and said other member having an opening receiving the bolt and cooperating therewith in the securing operation to retain the connecting device in applied position and suitabi',1 register said bolt receiving means with said bolt passages .in the support andy part thereby facilitating ready fastening engagement of the bolt with said bolt receiving means.

`3. In securing parts accessible from the edge only, the combination of a support having a bolt passage, a part to be connected to said support and having a bolt passage in registration with that in the support, and a one-piece clip cornprlsing a pair of rarms overlying the support and part respectively when applied thereto, one of said arms being provided with integral bolt receiving means deformed therefrom and the other of said arms having an opening receiving a bolt fastening and cooperating therewith in the securing operation to retain the clip in applied position and suitably register said bolt receiving means with said bolt passages in the support and part thereby facilitating ready fastening engagement of the bolt with said bolt receiving means.

4. In securing parts not accessible from both sides, the combination of a support readily accessible from one side only and provided with a bolt passage, a part to be connected to said support and a one-piece sheet metal connecting device comprising a pair of members one of which is provided with integral bolt receiving means deformed therefrom and which may be applied from the accessible side of the support to be positioned on the inaccessible side thereof to receive a bolt fastening and cooperate with the other of said members to maintain the connecting device in applied position on the support,

said member provided with the bolt receiving means being of such size as to completely cover the bolt passage in the support to prevent the bolt receiving means from being pulled therethrough when the boltfastening is drawn up, and said other member having an opening receiving the bolt and cooperating therewith in the securing operation to retain the connecting device in applied position on the support and suitably register said bolt receiving means with the bolt passage therein thereby facilitating ready4 fastening engagement of the bolt in securing said part to be connected to the support.

GEORGE A. TINNERMAN. 

